AbleNet is a leader in providing educational and technical solutions to help children and adults with disabilities lead productive and fulfilled lives.  This includes a complete line of communication aids for nonverbal individuals; access aids for all ages and situations; and special education classroom curriculum and software that both enhance and help ensure learning progress.  AbleNet's products are used in hundreds of thousands of homes, clinics, and classrooms in the United States and across the globe.

They've recently released the addition of the Hook iPod Switch Access to its top selling line of mobile device access products.  Keep reading to learn more!

Hook provides simple to advanced control of your music playlist with an auditory menu of functions you can control with your switch.  Hook is preconfigured in single switch mode to play/pause, skip forward and back, and adjust volume.  If that's more function than you need, you can change to a basic play/pause mode for simpler operation.

Hook also supports a dual-switch mode for faster access through the auditory menu prompts.  Finally, for those who want to use the power of music to reward students or patients, Hook has a motivation mode to play music for a set duration of time on switch activation.  Remember that your iPod can store more than just music in its library - with Hook, you have access to podcasts and audiobooks, opening huge new worlds of education and entertainment.

Features:

• Simple out-of-the-box control of iPod music library
• Single or dual switch access
• Speaker output to headphones, portable speakers, or home entertainment center
• Configurable volume limits for hearing safety
• Power from Apple device or use the included charger

Compatibility:

• iPod Touch (3rd and 4th generation)
• iPod Nano (5th and 6th generation)
• iPhone 4
• iPhone 3GS

In order to use the AbleNet Hook iPod Switch Access, you must have an external switch of some sort as well as either headphones or speakers.  Selecting the correct switch can be challenging, but AbleNet makes it easy. By following some simple guidelines, you can narrow the vast array of AbleNet switch options to a few appropriate choices.

Think of Hook as a simple out-of-the-box control for your iPod music library, great for giving children with disabilities control over music or audiobooks.   Hook provides simple to advanced control of your music playlist with an auditory menu of functions you can control with a switch.

"Hook opens huge new worlds of education and entertainment," remarked Jason Voiovich, V.P. of Marketing at AbleNet.  "Hook is a perfect solution for children and adults who want access to their audio library on their iPod, but can’t physically touch the screen.  That doesn’t just mean music, but a full range of audiobooks as well.  By using an auditory prompt menu to control functions, Hook also provides access to the iPod audio library for people who are blind or have vision challenges".

Disclosure: I received the Hook iPod Switch Access from AbleNet in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.